Folks in Essex and Franklin Counties, but in Clinton County most of all, are mourning the death last Wednesday of beloved historian, author, and media legend Gordie Little, undoubtedly one of the North Country’s best friends ever. Media legend? How else does one define the impact of 36 years on the radio, followed by nearly two decades of newspaper columns for Plattsburgh’s Press-Republican and recent columns in Denton Publications, while also hosting weekly programs on cable-access television? And through it all, he promoted the entire region at every opportunity.

Gordie wasn’t just on the radio: for thousands every day, he was radio. Shortly after joining WIRY in Plattsburgh back in the early 1960s, he was voted the top DJ among 12 competitors from area stations, earning for him a Golden Mike award. The fans had spoken, and he never looked back, making radio his life. The morning birthday show on WIRY became a regional classic. Many of us heard our birthdays announced back then, and heard Gordie do the same for our own children decades later. Families woke up to his voice daily, learning all the local news as we readied for school or work. (And he was always there, working more than 30 years before throat surgery forced him to take his first sick days.) Listeners will never forget his humorous, self-deprecating catch phrase: “Gordie Little – Who’s He?” » Continue Reading.